Lancelot Du Lethe

by J. Robert King

Book Overview

Drawing from Joseph Campbell, and from sources both historical and literary, this is a new take on the story of Camelots most famous knight. The story of Lancelot is one of striving for perfection in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765301180
• ISBN13: 9780765301185
• Release Date: December 2001
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 461 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 5.9" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A brilliant Arthurian read

It's always a joy to find new Arthurian fiction that isn't a simple rehash of the tales we're all familiar with. This book focuses on a character that's typically marginalized and misunderstood: the oft-criticized Lancelot. The author's take on the character follows very closely with the work of Malory, but breathes a refreshing new life into his tragic relationship with Guinevere by introducing fey themes and magic that is missing in most modern 'ultra-realistic' stories of today. As the recent 'King Arthur' movie proved, the story of King Arthur, Camelot, and his Knights loses most of its enduring appeal when you remove the mythical and magical elements. Thankfully, the author didn't fall into the same trendy trap with 'Lancelot du Lethe'.

lyric and beautiful

This book is so lyrical and breathtakingly - beautiful as to be astonishing. The author must be a poet and artist, as he conjures a series of dazzling, sensual, dreamlike images. The reviewers who do not see this are the poorer for it. The author weaves together a deep knowledge of history and legend with the insight of a philosopher or psychologist about the nature manhood, femininity, love and sexual desire. This book is deeply romantic.

Awesome Aurthurian Adventure!

J. Robert King has enlivened and energized a story that has been told and retold many times. As a fan of the fantasy genre in general and Aurthurian tales in particular, I found King's depiction of the love affair between Guinevere and Lancelot bewitching. Perhaps the strongest point of this great book is its language...it is 'high' enough to engage even the most well-read literature buff but at the same time it is 'low' enough for the first-time pre-teen fantasy reader to enjoy. This work of art provided me hours of entertainment and I am positive that it will for you as well!

The moon sets on a great knight

Lancelot du Lethe is the second book featuring King's unique take on the Arthurian legends. Gone are the various pantheons of gods, as this book is mostly about the land of Britain itself, its ties with the Fey folk, and how Christianity is pushing everything aside. King plays with the legends even as he includes many things that we all know and love about them. This is a better book than the first and it doesn't contain any of the problems the first book had. It does, however, have a couple of its own.As good as Mad Merlin was, this book is just so much richer that it's hard to believe. Anybody familiar with the Arthurian legends knows of the ill-fated love between Guinevere and Lancelot, and how the betrayal of Arthur affects Camelot and everything around it. While sticking to the basics of the legend, King adds so much more to the tapestry that it reads like a new tale. While Mad Merlin added the war between the gods, Lancelot du Lethe adds a great deal of detail to the land of the Fey, and the magical world that lies beneath and between the real world of man. Guinevere is of this land, and while she is married to Arthur in order to bring peace and stability to the land, she is drawn to Lancelot and his otherworldness. He harbours a secret of his own and draws her to him even more, a secret that even he doesn't know about. They are fated to be lovers as well, and this adds the main conflict to the story. The choices that King has the characters make are hard choices, and there are always consequences to them. He doesn't give them an easy way out like some authors do.Guinevere is much more developed in this book than the last one. It was about Arthur and Merlin, and Guinevere was mainly a means to an end, a character that served a purpose and wasn't a whole lot more. Here, though, she comes into her own. She is a kind and good queen, but she is a woman who is living in a sexless marriage because if she gives in to Arthur, everything will be destroyed. When Lancelot shows up, she is inexplicably drawn to him. Their romance is tragic, even more tragic than in many tellings of the legends. Lancelot is a good man as well, and he knows what he feels will hurt Arthur. He continues to try and deny his feelings but he feels like he must follow his heart. King masterfully tells the story of how they dance around each other and their feelings, and Arthur's feelings as well, until ultimately something has to give. These are all good people, and the reader feels the tragedy even more because of that.Other characters are not so well drawn, as they interact with these three only peripherally. I sometimes questioned the choices King made in this. Morgan le Fay and her son Mordred don't really come across very well. Morgan has plans for Lancelot but these plans are foiled more out of authorial fiat than by anything Lancelot actually does. She does have a hand in the tragic ending, much like in the legends, but she plays a relatively min

superb retelling of the Camelot triangle

When Merlin first sees the newborn Lancelot he knows that the infant will one day destroy all that King Arthur accomplished at Mount Badon and Camelot. The lad's father King Ban asks Merlin to bless his heir, but the mage wonders if the world would be a better place if he killed Lancelot right then and there. Reluctantly, Merlin blesses the baby stating he will one day be the best knight. Years later, Lancelot is considered the bravest knight of the Round Table. However, he and Arthur's Queen Guinevere feel a strong attraction to one another, but both try to do the honorable thing by avoiding one another even as their fey blood screams for these soul mates to converge. Arthur knows Lancelot owns the heart of his beloved wife and feels impotent. The wannabe lovers feel hopeless to stop the inevitable betrayal of Arthur that will disrupt the mortal and mystical planes as never seen before. LANCELOT DU LETHE, the sequel to MAD MERLIN, is a superb retelling of the Camelot triangle. The lead trio is written as doomed heroes caught in a destiny beyond their control, making them seem human yet majestic. The secondary cast provides further insight into the threesome while deepening a powerfully written plot that adheres to the legend while dramatically freshening up the Camelot lore. Fantasy fans will fully enjoy J Robert King's exciting epic tale that keeps him firmly on the genre's throne.Harriet Klausner